*THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.

Lots and lots of ways to install a new cable.... the easiest way that I know of is to drop your boat in the water, install the new cable then winch your boat back onto the trailer.... To make sure the base wraps are tight have someone on your boat with it idling in reverse to keep things tight until the hull makes contact with the trailer...

I spoke with a tech at Fulton who said that I cannot use a strap on the wide drum that my winch has because the strap attachment bolt will fail when the strap load goes off-center. Straps can only be used on the narrow drums.

I ended up dragging a couple logs but this did not put enough tension on the new cable... Dang it.

I spoke with a tech at Fulton who said that I cannot use a strap on the wide drum that my winch has because the strap attachment bolt will fail when the strap load goes off-center. Straps can only be used on the narrow drums.

I ended up dragging a couple logs but this did not put enough tension on the new cable... Dang it.

In my experience, (79 years worth by the way), Some day you will experience using a strap rather than a cable, then you will smile that you ever made this post.

Folks here, including yours truly, will help you make the change if and when you are ready.

Are you suggesting that I can simply put a strap on my present winch even though the mfg says that the drum is too wide? Or is there a way I can swap the wide drum for a narrow one?

I'm NOT resistant to change. In fact, I would jump at the chance to go to a strap. I just gotta be sure it's safe because this is a fairly heavy boat-- 25 ft Parker and my tow is 10 hours one-way.

Thanks for the help.
JM

JZumi, You don't say how wide your winch drum is, however straps are available in a three inch width. (I use a 2 1/2" wide strap with no alignment problems) With a three inch wide strap it will lay on itself with a little effort on your part so how wide your drum is does not matter. If I remember right a three inch wide strap has a 8,000 or 10,000 pound breaking strength which should be OK for your Parker.

Your boat will usually run up a certain distance from the Winch, that distance plus 6 or 8 wraps is all the strap length you need, the less wraps the easier it will be to keep the strap aligned on the drum.

A caveat here.... Very important....DO NOT TOW OVER THE ROAD WITH JUST YOUR WINCH STRAP HOLDING THE BOAT. You must have a safety device hooked to your bow eye. And your bow eye must have a large backing plate inside the boat.

You possibly have only one hole in your drum (on one side) so you must drill a second hole on the other side so you have two bolts holding the strap evenly.

The Trailer Parts Depot Dutton-Lainson Boat Trailer Hand Winch 3200 lb w/Strap, is only 3200 lb rated winch,this would be a good deal, then throw away the strap that comes with the winch and buy a higher capacity strap.

Ray, I understand that to replace a cable on a PowerWinch model 315 with a strap,two holes need to be drilled into the cable shaft. What size holes do you recommend? and is the drilling best left to a machine shop or is it something that can be accomplished using a hand held electric drill?

Ray, I understand that to replace a cable on a PowerWinch model 315 with a strap,two holes need to be drilled into the cable shaft. What size holes do you recommend? and is the drilling best left to a machine shop or is it something that can be accomplished using a hand held electric drill?

You already have one hole that the cable goes into. The second hole on the other side of the cable shaft is a doozer to drill. I did the drilling on my drill press, trying to do it with a hand held drill while the winch is mounted on the trailer would surely fail.

The cable shaft is harder than a wedding prick, after several try's I realized the shaft was surface hardened, so to get a drill to start a hole ya gotta grind a small flat spot where you want the drill to start.

I was ready to buy a solid carbide drill but finally got a carbide tipped 1/4" drill all the way through.

1/4" bolts will secure the strap just fine with a washer under the head of the bolt, I used a 2 1/2" wide strap, needless to say, the strap is great to work with, on the other hand the cable was awful.

Drop the strap and the cable and get some spectra rope, We have commercial fisherman who have done it with shrimp boats and have not looked back. 12 strand 1/2" has a 25,000 lb breaking strength, stronger than cable and a 3" flat strap

Edit, my Buddy (Marty) who is a commercial fisherman was at the launch one day and a googan launched his boat, trailer, and truck. Marty had his late 90's F-350 loaded down with a lug of ice in the back of his truck. The googan asked my buddy if he thought maybe he could pull his truck out the water. Marty handed him a piece of 3/8" spectra and told him if he could hook it up he would try to pull him out. Long story short, the rope got hooked up and the truck and trailer got pulled out the launch, true story, I seen the pics.

When I did my cable I tied my boat to a fixed object and pulled it back about 18 inches. The I put a snatch block on my bow eye to turn the cable 90 degrees and just used the winch to drag my tractor (in gear) across the yard. My boat is heavy and I use an 8500lb winch with 60 ft of cable and a snatch block. A strap is not an option for me and the cable has been working perfectly for 9 1/2 seasons now with no frays and no corrosion.